Your summer job stories: The good, the bad, the ugly

Ahh, summer. A time for sun, vacations, and... work. For teens, getting a summer job is a way to gain experience and earn some cash. But they're not always fun jobs -- or good ones. We asked you on our Facebook page what your best and worst summer jobs were. Take a look at your responses:

For some teens, finding a summer job is easier when you know somebody. Or know somebody who knows somebody. That was the case with Catharine Hartnett's 15-year-old daughter, Delaney. Catharine helped her daughter land the job through friends in her women's field hockey league.

So why did Delaney want a job this summer?

"I'm actually getting a car when I turn 16 that was my brother's, so I'll have some gas money and money for a little extra stuff," says Delaney.

Catharine says she is excited about her daughter getting a job because in her family, people earn the extras that they want to have throughout the year.

But getting a job wasn't easy for Delaney. She applied at a diner, pizza place, and ice cream parlor -- but she wasn't old enough to do some of the work or things just didn't work out. With her mother's help, Delaney was able to land a job as a standardized patient for $15/hour.

"I pretend or I act like I'm a patient and medical students basically learn how to talk to me," says Delaney, who plans to save money for things that might catch her interest.

So does Catharine think finding a job was easier for her as a teen when she was growing up?

"When I was young, it was the late '70s and economic times weren't very good back then. I'm not sure it was all that easy back then," says Catharine.

Catharine Harnett and Delaney Stokes came to us through the Public Insight Network and you can become a Marketplace Money source, too. Learn more. And tell us about your best or worst summer job. Leave a comment or join our conversation on Facebook.

Sarah Gardner is a reporter with Marketplace's Sustainability Desk. Her past projects include “We Used To Be China,” “Coal Play,” “Consumed,” “The Next American Dream,” “Jobs of the Future,” and “Climate Race,” among others. Sarah began her career at Marketplace as a...